Lunch box

ABSTRACT

The lunch box comprising a plurality of stackable, interchangeable food tray assemblies that have compartments in them for the storage of foodstuffs and other items. These stackable, interchangeable food tray assemblies are housed in an enclosure with a lid to protect the contents and a handle to provide ease of transport by the user. The lunch box can be made in a variety of sizes to accommodate the needs of the user and to fit within various size refrigerators. The lunch box can include locking features to hinder unauthorized access to the contents.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0001] Provisional Application No. 60/259241 filed Dec. 29, 2000, which is incorporated herein by reference and which filing date is claimed as a priority date for this application.

STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT

[0002] Not applicable

REFERENCE TO A MICROFICH APPENDIX

[0003] Not applicable

BACKGROUND

[0004] Packing meals when work, school, or some other engagement takes one away from home not only allows for a wide selection of foods, but, if properly planned, can also save incredible amounts of money. The problem is that no one can predict or calculate how much tuna salad will be the perfect amount, or how many ounces of coffee his/her bladder will be able to endure on any given day. Large amounts of food and beverages get wasted each day because of improper estimation during the packing procedure, and inadequate, away-from-home storage facilities for the unconsumed food and beverage items lead to a lot of unfinished peanut butter and jelly sandwiches found in the trash. Wouldn't it be great if there was some way to conveniently save leftovers and keep them fresh without needing to spend precious time transporting contents into different, cumbersome containers and hoping to find room in a refrigerator? Having one's foodstuffs taken by others, either accidentally or intentionally, is frequently another problem encountered in an environment where several individuals have access to the foodstuffs. The Lunch Box described herein is envisioned as one solution to these problems.

[0005] Information relevant to attempts to address the problems can be found in U.S. Pat. No. 4,206,343, 5,501,338, 4,595,101, and 4,474,303. However, each of these references suffers from one or more of the following disadvantages: additional weight and complexity of use due to a tray and liquid for heating the foodstuffs carried in the compartments; only capable of carrying substantially flat food containers such as paper or a box; multiple modules are required to carry multiple types of foodstuffs while maintaining separation of the multiple food types; not lockable to hinder unauthorized individuals from accessing the contents.

[0006] For the foregoing reasons, there is a need for a lunchbox that can hold a variety of foodstuffs while keeping the various foodstuffs segregated from each other, has trays that are easy to remove, take home, re-fill and bring back and can be locked to hinder unauthorized access to the contents.

SUMMARY

[0007] The present lunch box is directed to satisfying the above described needs.

[0008] Advantages of the present lunch box include: providing a user a means to save money by reducing or eliminating wasted food by having a place to store unused portions; providing a user a means to pack several meals in one container; providing a user a means to keep perishables cool even when access to a refrigerator is not available; providing a user a means to keep foodstuffs safe from others even while the user is elsewhere.

[0009] The lunch box is compact enough to fit between the shelves in a refrigerator, with separate compartments to organize the user's food and beverage leftovers. The lunch box combines the cold temperature of any refrigerator with the convenience of a portable, multi-compartmented lunch box. The great part is that this lunch box has internal food trays that are easily removed to be taken home at the end of the day or end of the week and refilled while the exterior enclosure portion of the lunch box is left in the refrigerator. The trays could also have labels or tags or “write-on” areas to identify the contents of the individual compartment in the tray. Since a refrigerator is not available in every situation, the trays could also be designed to feature compartments specifically for ice packets or other means for keeping the lunch box and the food cool.

[0010] These advantages are achieved by a lunch box comprising a plurality of stackable, interchangeable food tray assemblies that have compartments in them for the storage of foodstuffs and other items. These stackable, interchangeable food tray assemblies are housed in an enclosure with a lid to protect the contents and a handle to provide ease of transport by the user. The lunch box can be made in a variety of sizes to accommodate the needs of the user and to fit within various size refrigerators. One embodiment of the present invention incorporates a locking feature to hinder unauthorized individuals from accessing the contents of the lunch box.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0011] These and other features, aspects, and advantages of the present invention will become better understood with regard to the following description, given by way of example and not intended to limit the present invention solely thereto, appended claims and accompanying drawings where: FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of an embodiment of the present invention in which the lid of the exterior enclosure is shown open to receive the food trays. FIG. 2A is a perspective view of an embodiment of the present invention in which the enclosure and lid are designed such that a lock may be used to protect the contents of the lunch box. FIG. 2B is a perspective view of an embodiment of the present invention wherein the locking feature is provided by a latch and cylinder-style combination lock. FIG. 2C is a perspective view of an embodiment of the present invention wherein the locking feature is provided by a latch and rotary-style combination lock.

DESCRIPTION

[0012] Referring to the drawings and the reference characters marked thereon, FIG. 1 illustrates an embodiment of the lunch box of the present invention, designated generally as 10. The lunch box 10 includes a plurality of stackable, interchangeable rigid food tray assemblies 12, 14 and 16, an exterior enclosure 18 for housing the food tray assemblies 12, 14, 16, a lid 22 for covering the exterior enclosure 18 to protect the contents, a receptacle 26 in the exterior enclosure 18, a locking tab 24 on the lid 22 that engages in the receptacle 26 to hold the lid 22 securely closed, and a handle 20 for carrying the lunch box 10.

[0013] One embodiment of the lunch box 10 uses a small, lightweight, die-cut paperboard box design to form the exterior enclosure 18 and incorporates stackable, vacuum-formed polystyrene trays 12, 14, 16. The lid 22 of the lunch box 10 is an integral part of the enclosure 18 and is held closed by a locking tab 24 that is also an integral part of the enclosure 18 and lid 22 and which is inserted in receptacles 26 in the enclosure 18. It is not necessary that the exterior enclosure 18 be made from a single piece that is die-cut into a form that can be folded to form the final shape. The exterior enclosure 18 could be made by any process and of any material suitable for use in a consumer environment and for use in contact with food and beverages. The lid 22 could also be a separately made piece and attached to the exterior enclosure 18 by a hinge or a plurality of hinges. The dimensions of the enclosure 18 can also be varied to accommodate various sizes of refrigerators or different size and number of trays 12, 14, 16.

[0014] Each tray 12, 14, 16 is designed to fit into the exterior enclosure 18 and “nest” on the tray 12, 14, 16 beneath it by being rotated 180° around a vertical axis relative to the tray 12, 14, 16 beneath. Each tray 12, 14, 16 has at least one compartment 17 wherein the foodstuffs or other items are placed for storage and transport. The stackable trays 12, 14, 16 could be made from any material suitable for use in a consumer environment and for use in contact with food and beverages. The stackable trays 12, 14, 16 could also be made by any process suitable for the material chosen and the quantity to be produced. The dimensions of the trays 12, 14, 16 and the number and size of compartments 17 in each tray could also be varied from the concept as shown to accommodate different sizes of refrigerators or different storage needs.

[0015] One embodiment of the lunch box 10 includes a nylon string handle 20. However, the handle 20 material and style could be varied to almost any configuration and is not required to be limited to a nylon string. The handle 20 does not even need to be a string but could be anything of sufficient strength to support the weight of a fully-loaded lunch box. Considerations for choice of the handle 20 include but are not limited to cost, aesthetics, ease of manufacturing, ease of use and ergonomics.

[0016] The lunch box 10 is compact enough to fit between the shelves in a refrigerator, with separate compartments to organize the user's food and beverage leftovers. This embodiment of the invention combines the cold temperature of any refrigerator with the convenience of a portable, multi-compartmented lunch box. The great part is that this lunch box 10 has internal food trays 12, 14, 16 that are easily removed to be taken home at the end of the day or end of the week and refilled while the exterior enclosure 18 portion of the lunch box 10 is left in the refrigerator. The trays 12, 14, 16 could also have labels or tags to identify the contents of the individual compartment 17 in the tray 12, 14, 16. Since a refrigerator is not available in every situation, the trays 12, 14, 16 could also be designed to feature compartments 17 specifically for ice packets or other means for keeping the lunch box 10 and the food cool.

[0017]FIG. 2A shows an embodiment of the present invention wherein the lid 22 has a hasp-like feature 30 and the exterior enclosure 18 has a semi-circular shaped member 32 which will protrude through the hasp-like feature 30 of the lid 22 when the lid 22 is in the closed position and thereby provide a means for the user to secure the contents of the lunch box 10 with a lock 34.

[0018]FIG. 2B shows an embodiment of the present invention wherein the locking feature comprises a latch 36 and cylinder-style combination lock 38, details of which are well-known.

[0019]FIG. 2C shows an embodiment of the present invention wherein the locking feature comprises a latch 40 and rotary-style combination lock 42, details of which are well-known.

[0020] While the invention has been described in the specification and illustrated in the drawings with reference to a preferred embodiment, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes may be made and equivalents may be substituted for elements thereof without departing from the scope of the invention. In addition, many modifications may be made to adapt 

What is claimed is:
 1. A lunch box comprising: a) a plurality of stacked, interchangeable food tray assemblies, said tray assemblies having a plurality of compartments formed therein; b) an enclosure for containing the food tray assemblies, said enclosure having a lid to cover the food tray assemblies, said enclosure further having a handle whereby the enclosure and food tray assemblies can be carried.
 2. The lunch box of claim 1 wherein the food tray assemblies are made of polystyrene.
 3. The lunch box of claim 1 wherein the handle is a nylon string.
 4. The lunch box of claim 1 wherein the enclosure is made from a single piece of material that is folded to form the final shape.
 5. A lunch box comprising: a) a plurality of stacked, interchangeable food tray assemblies, said tray assemblies having a plurality of compartments formed therein; b) an enclosure for containing the food tray assemblies, said enclosure having a lid to cover the food tray assemblies, said enclosure further having a handle whereby the enclosure and food tray assemblies can be carried. c) means for securing the lid in the closed position.
 6. The lunch box of claim 5 wherein the means for securing the lid in the closed position comprises a tab on the lid and a receptacle on the enclosure, said tab engageable with said receptacle on the enclosure.
 7. The lunch box of claim 5 wherein the means for securing the lid in the closed position further comprises a means for locking the lid to the enclosure.
 8. The lunch box of claim 5 wherein the means for securing the lid in the closed position further comprises a latch and a cylinder-style combination lock.
 9. The lunch box of claim 5 wherein the means for securing the lid in the closed position further comprises a latch and a rotary-style combination lock. 